Multiple buzzer-beaters and regulation weren't enough to settle the score between the St. Edward's women's basketball team and Texas A&M-Kingsville when the two teams met three weeks ago in a Hilltopper win.
As both teams prepare to tip off against each other for the second time this month, familiarity doesn't breed contempt, but scarcity certainly raises the stakes.
"If you look at the standings, the top five spots in the conference tournament are close to being locked up. That leaves six or seven teams fighting for three spots," St. Edward's head women's basketball coach J.J. Riehl explains. "We play two of those teams this week, so it's not about X's and O's or adjustments, but understanding and managing the urgency of the moment."
St. Edward's is seventh in the conference standings with a 6-6 conference record, sitting a game behind Kingsville with an opportunity to sweep the season series. Cameron and UT Permian Basin are right behind St. Edward's at 6-7, followed by Eastern New Mexico at 5-7, and Texas A&M International at 4-8.
The last time St. Edward's was on the road, it claimed a crucial weekend sweep against Oklahoma Christian and Arkansas Fort Smith, followed by a home win against UT Permian Basin before Angelo State ended the three-game win streak.
"Angelo State is better than we are right now, but we talked all year about not putting all our eggs in a few games," Riehl says. "We have to win the .500 games, and we have a string of them coming up. So we must put everything in perspective and not let that Angelo State game derail us from this upward trend."
The offense has come and gone in spurts all season. Still, St. Edward's has found an identity and stability on the defensive end where MORGAN GARY and JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER pressure ball handlers on the wings, LAUREN CATHERMAN creates chaos in the backcourt, and SAMMIE DUFEK ranks fifth in the nation in blocks per game.
"Sammie doesn't get enough credit. She knows the scouting report forwards and backward and cleans up so many messes," Riehl says. "And Jayda gives us so much confidence and energy, Morgan plays excellent on-ball defense, and when you add Lauren into the mix with what she does defensively, it's become our calling card."
St. Edward's will have to flex that defensive pressure against a Texas A&M-Kingsville team that doesn't beat itself. The Javelinas average the fewest turnovers per game in the Lone Star Conference and boast its best assist-to-turnover ratio. However, the Hilltoppers have forced at least 20 turnovers in three of their past four games as Riehl has found lineup combinations that trend quicker with a more significant defensive punch.
They'll follow the Kingsville game with an away game at Texas A&M International, led by the conference's leading scorer Raiana Brown, who averages 18.8 points per game on a conference-best 59.7 percent shooting, and a defense that averages the second most steals in the LSC.
"The first game against Texas A&M International, we struggled but bounced back against Kingsville, and I think that's where we turned the corner," Riehl says. "You might lose games, but we're at a point in the season where you can't afford to lose games because you didn't show up or understand the magnitude of the situation."
